established as a way to develop Nuclear weapons, because ICF mimics the compression physics of a fission-fusion bomb. These facilities have been built around the world, below are some examples. Laser Mégajoule in France was developed in 2002 and upgraded in 2014. Omega Laser was first built in 1992 at the University of Rochester. Omega-EP was first built in 2008 at the University of Rochester as second more powerful laser beam. Gecko Laser was first built at Osaka University in Japan in 1983 but has since been upgraded nearly a dozen times. NIF was first operational in 2009 at the Livermore National Laboratory. NIKE Laser was built at the Naval Research Laboratory to study excimer (gas-based) lasers. Electra Laser was built at the Naval Research Laboratory to study excimer (gas-based) lasers. PALS laser facility in the Czech Republic was established to research ICF laser implosions. Machine 3 was developed by First Light Fusion to accelerate blocks of material to create a shockwave on the target. There have also been multiple ICF facilities built, tested and decommissioned in the past. For example, Sandia National Laboratory pursued a series (<10 machines) of ion-beam and electron-beam driven ICF research program through the 1970s and into the middle 1980s. Alternatively, Los Alamos built a large, excimer laser facility called Aurora in the late 1980s. Livermore National Laboratory built a succession of laser facilities including Nova, Cyclops, 4-PI, SHIVA and other devices. As part of the run up to the NIF opening and achieving ignition, Livermore National Laboratory funded a body of research around the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy program. Under this program, a reactor design was developed, costing, reactor chambers and energy capture programs were explored. IFE Research Programs IFE development has come in waves within the United States. Below are some government programs that have been funded over the years to push this technology forward: HAPL The high average laser program was administered by the Naval Research Laboratory from 1999 to 2008. This program doled out grants to target, laser and driver teams across the United States and organized 19 meetings between member organizations. LIFE The Laser Inertial Fusion Energy program was administered by Livermore National Laboratory from 2008 to 2016. This program was funded to develop an IFE fusion power plant based around the National Ignition Facility. SDI The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) inadvertently supported many of the IFE laser technologies seen